Pomona College Breaks Ground for New Environmentally "Green" Biology Building

Pomona College will officially break ground for the new Richard C. Seaver Biology Building at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 2, prior to the college's annual opening day convocation. The ground-breaking ceremony will take place on the south side of the construction site located on Sixth Street between College and Harvard avenues.

According to Pomona College President David Oxtoby, the new biology building was named after Trustee Emeritus Richard C. Seaver '43 "to recognize his many decades of exceptional service to the College as a trustee and honorary trustee." Funding for the building was made possible in large part by a gift to the College from the estate of Frank Seaver, Richard's uncle, as distributed by the Seaver Institute. As the newest component of the Seaver Science Center, the Seaver Biology Building is one of many buildings on the campus that speak to the family's generosity and legacy."

The new structure will be a 46,720 gross square foot, three-story building housing a mix of advanced teaching labs, research labs, faculty offices and support space on each floor.

The building's design, by the Newport Beach architecture firm of Bauer and Wiley, reflects a significant commitment to energy conservation and environmental sustainability. Among its features are the use of natural light and high efficiency lighting to reduce the need for electric lighting; high efficiency water heaters and air dryers; thermal energy storage; rooftop photovoltaic cells for solar power; an ice-cooled air conditioning system; and filter drains and open grid pavement systems to minimize storm runoff. The inclusion of these and numerous other features should result in a "Silver" rating by the U.S. Green Building Council's system (often referred to as LEED standards"), placing the building in the top one percent of all academic laboratory buildings in the country in terms of energy-conscious design.

President David Oxtoby will be joined at the ground-breaking by several members of the Seaver family including Richard C. Seaver, members of the faculty and other members of the Pomona College community.

Pomona College is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts institutions, offering a comprehensive program in the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its hallmarks include small classes, close relationships between students and faculty, and a range of opportunities for student research.